Musical instruments with strings parallel to keyboard and operated by the feet



- May 13, 1969 R. BROCATO MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS WITH STRINGS PARALLEL Sheet or s TO KEYBOARD AND OPERATED BY THE FEET Filed June 18, 1964 May 13, 1969 Filed June 18, 1964 MUSICAL INSTRU TO KEYBOARD R A. BROCATO NTS WITH STRINGS PARALLEL OPERATED BYTHE FEET Sheet 2 of 5 WI/EA/TO/Q W/QKM' y 13, 1969 R. A. BROCATO 3,443,470

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS WITH STRINGS PARALLEL TO KEYBOARD AND OPERATED BY THE FEET Filed June 18, 1964 Sheet 3 of 5 //.\/t/E/V70%? s 7%, M

ROCATO WITH ST R. A. B AL INSTRUMENTS RALLEL EET GS .TH

May 13, 1969 MUSIC T0 KEYBOARD AND OPERATED Filed June 18, 1964 Sheet FIG. 8

Wl/E/WQR WA. [3%

May 13, 1969 R. A. BROCATO 3,443,470 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS WITH STRINGS PARALLEL TO KEYBOARD AND OPERATED BY THE FEET Sheet of 5 Filed June 18, 1964 United States Patent 3 443 470 MUSICAL INSTRUME NTS WITH STRINGS PARAL- LEL TO KEYBOARD AND OPERATED BY THE FEET Robert A. Brocato, 108 E. Jordan, Shreveport, La. 71101 Filed June 18, 1964, Ser. No. 376,616 Int. Cl. Gc 3/08, 3/14, 3/18 US. Cl. 84-426 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention is concerned with instruments which are played by the foot or feet. This type of instrument is used as an accompaniment to another instrument.

In such instruments as pianos, guitars and other stringed instruments, melody and harmony can be played simultaneously. While it takes both hands for this operation, the addition of a bass tone simulating a bass fiddle would be most advantageous. If the player could obtain a bass note by the use of his foot, he would have a more complete musical performance. The bass note serves to give a low harmonious background and also serves as laying down a beat. This arrangement would be most noticeable in the case of a single musician performing.

The invention that is disclosed here is a selfcontained bass tone emitting instrument that is activated by means of the foot by pedals. This instrument is used in conjunction with any conventional amplifying unit capable of amplifying bass frequencies. The instrument is entirely portable and is placed in front of a piano or in reach of say a guitarists foot. There are thirteen pedals from C to C, one octave to conform to the current pedal arrangement used in electric organs. The bass tone emitted by this instrument adds such a completing effect that the player feels almost as though he has acquired a third hand.

This instrument has for its tone producing mechanism actual strings. Using actual strings has several enormous advantages. One, nothing sounds more like a string than a string, and a string is the most ideal bass tone sound for rhythm accompaniment. Also because a string is so easily tuned to different pitches, this will allow the pedal bass accompaniment instrument to be turned to pianos or instruments which may be tuned to other than standard itch.

p The strings of the instrument are induced in to vibrating by means of small hammers which are actuated by pressing the pedals, and string vibration dampers are included to stop the string vibration when the pedals are released. The string vibration is sensed by a magnetic type microphone which changes the oscillating motion of the strings in to electrical pulses.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description when viewed together with the accompanying drawings of the foot-operated bass tone musical instrument.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the assembled footoperated bass tone instrument.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the instrument with front panels cut away so the complete operating mechanism can be seen together.

Patented May 13, 1969 FIG. 3 is a removed section view showing the highest note pedal in detail.

FIG. 4 is a frontal view of the string plate together with its strings and tuning and tension maintaining mechanism.

FIG. 5 is an isometric View of the string plate with its tuning and tension maintaining mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a frontal view of a removed section of the instrument showing in detail a pedal, a hammer and a string damper together with several strings.

FIG. 7 is a profile view of a removed section of the instrument showing in detail a pedal, a hammer and a string damper together with several strings.

FIG. 8 is a detached sectional view of the tuning and tension maintaining mechanism viewed from the bottom of the string plate in the direction along the plane of the string plate.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters designate similiar parts throughout, FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the assembled instrument in which can be seen the thirteen pedals. The long pedals correspond to the white notes on a conventional piano keyboard and the short tall pedals correspond to the black notes. The range of notes is from C to C an octave higher. The high C pedal, which can be seen clearly in the removed section in FIG. 3, is offset as shown so that the pedal will fit conveniently into the string actuating mechanism, and the conventional interval between the notes B and C is maintained. It can be seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 that the strings run parallel to the pedal keyboard making the instrument rather long in relation to its height. It is a necessity that the instrument is able to utilize long strings because the richest bass tones come from strings. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 a cut-out section 1 is provided in the backboard 18 so that when the instrument is used with a piano, the piano sustain and soft pedals will fit in this cut-out section and allow the pedal bass instrument to stand directly against the piano. The cut-out 1 is large enough So that the piaho sustain and soft pedals can be played by the players right foot in the usual way. It can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4 that the strings 3 are positioned lengthwise on the string plate 2 in a staggered, staircase or echelon pattern. This atrangement is used because each string will then have a section at its end where it can be struck by a hammer Without the hammer striking any other string. The strings are held in the staggered, staircase or echelon arrangement by the use of fins 4 mounted on the string plate 2. The fins 4 can be seen clearly in FIGS. 4 and 5. Directly in front of each fin is a hole 5 slightly larger than the diameter of the string. There is a tuning and tension maintaining mechanism 6 bolted on the string plate. The strings 3 are inserted through holes 5, bent around the fins 4 and are secured by the tuning and tension mechanism 6. The tuning mechanism 6 is bolted on to the string plate 2 by bolts 19.

The exact way in which the strings are held in the correct tension and position can be seen by referring to FIG. 8 which is a detailed edge view of the tuning and tension maintaining mechanism with only three strings illustrated for simplicity. As seen, 6 is shaped in the form of an inverted U-beam or channel with a flange 16 on one of its sides at the rear. Eyebolts 8, 9 and 10 are aligned with the holes 7 on the front face and holes 11 on the back face of the tuning and tension mechanism '6 so that the strings pass through holes 7 on the front side, pass through the eyes in the eyebolts 8, 9 and 10, pass through the holes 11 on the rear face of 6 and are secured by special bolts 12. Special bolts 12 are bolts which have a hole slightly larger than the diameter of the strings drilled directly beneath the bolt head. All of the bolts 12 are identical to each other. The strings 3 go through the holes in the special bolts 12. One bolt is drawn removed in FIG. 8 so it can be seen clearly how the strings traverse the bolts 12. The special bolts 12 are secured by nuts thereby holding the strings slightly taut. The exact desired tensions of the strings is adjusted by regulating the wing nuts 15 on the eyebolts 8, 9 and 10. Eyebolts 8, 9 and 10 pull the strings transversely, resulting in the correct tension. 13 and 14 in FIG, 8 are tube-like spacers or collars of two different heights through which eyebolts 8, 9 and 10 pass. The purpose of the tubes or collars is to place the wing nuts 15 at different heights so that they can be adjusted without interference between each other. Due to the tubes or collars 13 and 14, the eyebolts 8, 9 and 10 are three different lengths. Eyebolts 8, 9 and 10 need not necessarily be round. They could be especially shaped so that they would not have a tendency to turn. For instance, they could be square or pentagonally shaped and be inserted through square or pentagonal holes in tuning mechanism 6. This would restrict the eyebolts to only transverse movement.

The way in which the hammer is actuated by the foot pedals can be seen clearly in FIGS. 7 and 6. Each string has a portion near its end in which the hammer 17 operates. The hammer 17 pivots about an axis 20 inbedded in the hammer holder 21. The hammer holder 21 is held in place by wood screws 22 which go through the holes 23 in the string plate 2 and screw into the backboard 18. The screws 22 have a secondary purpose that they hold the string plate 2 firmly on backboard 18. In portions of the instrument which are associated with the high .strings, the hammer holders do not screw through the string plate to the backboard but directly to the backboard. The hammer 17 is weighed near its periphery by a lead weight 24. This will allow the hammer to strike the string with a large amount of momentum. For hammer head felt, all that is used is a thin strip of fir felt 25. When the pedal 26 is pressed, it pivots about its axis 27 and the end with the adjustable capstan screw 28 comes upward throwing the hammer toward the string. The capstan screw 28 is adjusted so that the hammer will not be held against the string, but will strike the string and be able to bounce back a short distance so that the string will vibrate with no interference from the hammer. The bottom of the hammer is curved so that both the rotational as well as the upward movement to the capstan screw can be utilized. It can be surmised, especially with the aid of FIG. 2, that the hammers 17 in order to operate on the strings 3 at their ends must also be arranged in a staggered, staircaseor echelon type configuration.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, to stop the string from vibrating when the pedal is released, a string vibration lever 29 pivots about an axis 30. The damper lever 29 1s L-shaped when viewed in the direction of its axis. The top arm is connected to the pedal 26 through a damper rod 31. The movement of the damper lever 29 can be adjusted by means of the adjusting nut 32. The bottom end of damper rod 31 is fastened to the pedal 26 so it can pivot in the same plane in which the pedal pivots. Specifically, damper rod 31 is fastened to pedal 26 by bending the damper rod in a 90 degree angle a short distance from its end, the bent end portion is perpendicular to the plane of the pedal and is inserted in two apertures 36 on the pedal in which the damper rod may rotate slightly to and fro. The damper lever 29 can be seen in FIG. 6 to 'be offset in shape, that is, the top end and the bottom end in the vertical plane are transposed from each other but still parallel. The reason for this is so that the damper material 33 will contact the string at a point somewhat removed from the end. That is, the damper has more effect when applied to a portion of the string slightly distant from the ends. The damper lever operates therefore in the next interval in the echelon arrangement. The offset in the damper lever 29 could be greater so that the damper operates on the string two or more intervals from the hammer if desired. The amount of offset in the damper lever 29 is a matter of choice or of accommodating the mechanical arrangement. It can be seen by viewing FIG. 2 that the dampers following the staggered, staircase or echelon arrangement of the strings will themselves be arranged in a staggered, staircase or echelon configuration. The damper material 33 is glued on to the damper lever 29 and is made of either conventional felt or a closed cellular sponge rubber.

Referring to FIG. 7 the operation of the damper is as follows: Pedal 26 is pressed, the horizontal portion of L-shaped damper lever 29 is pulled downward by the damper rod 31. The vertical portion of the damper lever 29 is actually behind the string and moves away from the string when the pedal is pressed leaving the string free to vibrate. The hammer hits the string and commences the vibration. To stop the vibration the pedal is released and the proces is reversed which results in the damper material resting on the string.

Referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that all of the pedals are pivoted about the same axis 27 and all of the dampers are pivoted about the same axis 30.

Referring to FIG. 2 the sound of the strings is picked up by a magnetic microphone 34 which lies directly be hind the strings. The pulses from magnetic pick-up 34 are amplified in the conventional way.

Referring again to FIG. 2, a row of protrusions 35 are placed near the ends of the short pedals to eliminate sidewise slack in the pedal movement. This row of protrusions can be stamped out of metal or could be a molded type of plastic or other material.

The arrangement described is for an instrument to be played by the foot, but the important principles laid down above could very well be used in other musical instruments, especially a piano. In pianos, particularly portable pianos, a great saving of space can be accomplished by positioning the strings parallel to the keyboard in a staggered, staircase or echelon configuration, and also arranging the hammers and string vibration dampers in a staggered, staircase or echelon configuration to complement the string arrangement.

A particular embodiment of the invention has been described but changes and modifications can be made without departing from the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a piano or other musical instrument, a plurality of strings all parallel to each other and lying horizontally in a vertical plane, said strings terminating in a staggered fashion with the longest string being the top-most string, a set of pedals lying also in a horizontal plane below said strings and pivoted near the rear ends thereof, a rod parallel to the strings and located above the same a plurality of damper levers rotatably afixed at the top ends of said rod to permit a slight oscillation thereof in a plane perpendicular to the plane of said strings, said pedals being operatively connected with said rod to oscillate said damper levers, the bottom ends of levers varying in length in staggered fashion, the shortest damper lever corresponding to the longest string and the longest damper lever corresponding to the shortest string.

2. In a musical instrument having a string plate with strings mounted thereon, said strings being parallel to each other and lying horizontally in a vertical plane, a series of fins mounted on said string plate perpendicular to said strings, said fins terminating in staggered fashion to present a staggered shape along the horizontal length of said string plate and means for securing a string at the end of each fin.

3. In a musical instrument having strings, striking hammers and string dampers, a plurality of strings, all parallel to each other and lying in One plane, the strings terminating in a staggered fashion, each string associated with one striking hammer and one string damper, the collection of hammers arranged in staggered configuration, the collection of string dampers arranged in staggered type configuration, the striking hammers disposed to strike the strings near their termination in the staggered pattern, each hammer positioned in one step of the staggered configuration, a damper for each string positioned along that string in one of the steps of the staggered configuration, the damper for each string positioned along that string in one of the steps of the "staggered configuration other than the step in which the striking hammer is positioned.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 8 4/1839 Ma-ckay 84254 10 3,197,542 7/1965 Appleton 84426 3,643 6/1844 Ricketts 84197 Thaldorf 84288 Almcrantz et al. 84285 Schenuit 84285 Munafo 84197 Finney et al 84285 RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner.

STANLEY A. WAL, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

